Thai police find hundreds of dog skins dumped in forest
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Hundreds of dog skins have been found dumped in an area of northeastern Thailand notorious for exporting canine parts as a delicacy or for use as a leather substitute -- including for golf gloves, police said Wednesday.
Acting on a tip-off, police made the gruesome discovery in bags left next to a large pile of dog bones in a forest on Tuesday in Sakon Nakhon, which borders Laos.
"The skins would be bleached -- some are then sent (by smugglers) to other countries to be made into gloves for playing golf," Lamai Sakolpitak, from a special police unit to suppress smuggling and the trade in animal parts, told AFP on telephone.
"Experts say that dog skins are also used for instruments such as drums," Lamai said, adding that it is illegal to kill canines to sell their parts in Thailand or abroad.
Lamai said the find was likely linked to a recent raid on two nearby makeshift factories where skins were stripped from dogs.
AFP
